The sun shone brightly on Konoha as new day dawned, many travelers including merchants and ninjas passed thru the enormous gates entering the beautiful village. Naruto walked peacefully with Hinata in tow towards a new Edo-style restaurant in the Uchiha compound. Sasuke had recently been promoted to Jonin which gave Sakura an excuse to not only make a party for Sasuke but to gawk like the rest of the girls at the Uchiha men. Hinata grabbed on to Naruto's arm tenderly, Naruto walked slowly as to enjoy every second he had alone with Hinata. He cherished every moment he could with her, as they barely had anytime to be together, with her being the Hyuga heiress and him the son of the hokage and now a war hero, their lives were so hectic, that any moment they had together was a gift.
In what seemed seconds, they reached the Uchiha Compound, it was one of the liveliest places in Konoha. With young children running to and fro, shopkeepers selling their wares, couples laughing and enjoying their time, as well as all the trees and nature that surrounded it. It was truly a peaceful place, as they arrived to the restaurant they saw some familiar faces in front of the huge wooden door.
"Hey! I was wondering when you two would show up!" said Sakura as she rushed to hug both of them, Naruto had missed Sakura, ever since she became Tsunade's apprentice and a Jonin, she's been incredibly busy. She has become more womanly since the last time he saw her, he body had gotten curvy as well as having a more full chest. She's kept her hair long, as well as acquiring a diamond on her forehead much like Tsunade. She was wearing a long red cheongsam with red heels, similar to what Ten-Ten wears.
"Wow, you look great Sakura-chan, I see that Ten-Ten rubbed off on you" said Hinata giggling, Sakura blushed slightly and she smiled at Hinata. "Well I do have to look cute, I mean the Uchiha men are quite a catch" said Sakura as she winked at Hinata. they both started giggling as they began catching up, Naruto nodded at Shikamaru, who looked the same as always except now he was sporting a goatee and with a habit of smoking. Rock Lee and Kiba hugged Naruto as they began making small talk as well, Ino then appeared, coming from the inside of the restaurant screaming at everybody to get inside because if not Chouji was going to eat all the food.
Once inside the restaurant, Naruto became awed by its beauty and its rustic charm, guided by Ino they reached a room. Ino opened the door and inside was Sasuke and his family accompanied by Itachi's best friend Shisui Uchiha, Obito Uchiha as well as the rest of Naruto's friends. Sasuke received Naruto with a huge hug almost knocking him back, it had been awhile since all of them were reunited. They sat down, ate and drank until the night sky began to approach, thats when Shisui grabbed Sasuke by the neck and began to speak.
"You know Sasuke, I've been to Edo and this little restaurant pales in comparison to the real ones"
"Really? Isn't Edo forbidden for Ninja to enter?" said Hinata quietly, Shisui then wink at her and said "It is but I disguised myself as civilian" Sasuke wiggled out of Shisui's grip and served himself a cup of sake and said "Shisui isn't that incredibly dangerous? You could've gotten killed if somebody found out your true allegiance"
Shisui pouts and brushes of Sasuke's comment with his hand "I wasn't going to come back home without first experiencing Edo, but man let me tell you. Its beautiful, with big red buildings stretching the sky, its alleyways and streets are blessed with the soft glows of lanterns as well as being full of life. The food is juicy and impeccably made and their sake? No words can describe how amazing the taste-"
"I'm surprised you haven't talked about the women, since apart from food and sake thats the only thing that occupies your otherwise empty head" said Itachi while he smiled slightly as everybody laughed, Shisui scowled at Itachi and stuck out his tongue at him.
"Well Itachi I was getting to that before you rudely interrupted me" said Shisui as Itachi rolled his eyes as he served himself another cup of tea. "But the most beautiful of all the things I saw there were the women, man I had never seen so many beautiful women in my life. Long black hair, skin as white as porcelain and as soft as silk and piercing eyes, but even with all those beautiful women, it could not compare to the one maiden who I met during my short stay at Edo"
"Here we go" said Itachi quietly while rolling his eyes, Shisui dramatically placed his hand on his chest "As I walked mindlessly thru the streets of Edo, after losing all of my money at gambling, thats when I saw her. A delicate beauty walking the streets, hair as black as night that fell gracefully on her shoulders, her light pink kimono hugged her body sensually as she walked with a grace I had only seen in nobility. She turned and looked at me with the most beautiful blue eyes, I'd ever seen and smiled at me, and I thought I was in heaven, thats when after I told her of my plight, she showed me amazing kindness. She fed me and gave me a place to stay and I of course repaid her kindness in the best way I know how said Shisui as he smiled lewdly, Hinata then spoke up shyly and said "How did you repay her kindness?" Shisui gestured Hinata to come close to him as he whispered in her ear, she immediately blushed and pushed Shisui away, as he laughed.
"Well at least thats something Konoha girls have that Edo women don't have, modesty"
"Shisui talks big, and yet he's managed to essentially scare off every single fiance he's had" said Obito laughing, Shisui stuck his tongue at Obito as everybody started laughing lightly. Fugaku then stood up with a cup of sake in his hand and spoke "I'd like to propose a toast, to Sasuke, my youngest son who has achieved the rank of Jonin and continues to make me proud, to Itachi, my eldest who this summer will be taking over my job as head of the Anbu, to Obito, may his engagement to Nohara-san make him happy, to Shisui, may he find a wife and become a much more serious shinobi and finally to all of you, you who are the future of this village, may you be happy and bring Konoha glory"
Everybody lifted their glasses in unison and drank, as night began to break, little by little, Sasuke's friends began to leave. First was team 10, due to the fact that Chouji had eaten way too much meat and had an awful stomach ache, then Ten-Ten and Neji carried a drunken and half naked Rock Lee out of the restaurant before he kept on making a fool of himself, Kiba left with a waitress draped on his arm, while Shino left to take care of Akamaru, Hinata and Naruto left arm in arm with Sakura right behind them. Fugaku, Mikoto and Obito were the last to leave, Mikoto hugging Sasuke tightly said goodbye to him while Fugaku merely nodded in approval, Obito smiled at Sasuke before he left with his parents. Once Sasuke's parents and Obito left, Shisui, then patted Sasuke's back and smiled coyly at him "Well now that you're a jonin and a man you are now ready to take part in the long standing tradition of the Uchiha"
"Shisui, I've had enough of your nonsense for one day, honestly how Itachi puts up with you I have no idea" said Sasuke with a tinge of annoyance in his voice, Shisui pouts and then gestures towards Itachi. He then stands up and looks at Sasuke seriously "What Shisui is saying is right, there is a tradition among the Uchiha which you could only take part once you were old enough. Father wanted you to go thru it once you turned fifteen but Mother urged him to wait until you reached the rank of Jonin in order and so he did, but she didn't know that you would become a Jonin so quickly. And so its up to me and Shisui to take you to the place where you'll take part in a long standing Uchiha tradition."
Sasuke stood up and looked at Itachi and Shisui seriously and said "Then I shall follow you". Itachi and Shisui smiled at each other as they left the restaurant. They kept walking towards a secluded part of the compound, on which Sasuke never ventured, Itachi and Shisui lead Sasuke towards a light blue building. Shisui went inside and talked with an old woman, he gave her a small bag in her hand and then gestured at Sasuke to enter the building. Sasuke with Itachi close behind him entered the building, "Well this is where me and Shisui must leave you, little brother" said Itachi smiling and patting his brother's shoulder affectionately.
"What is this place? What am I to do here?"
"You'll find out soon enough, Sasuke-chan" said Shisui coyly at Sasuke
"Follow Ebihara-san and relax, you'll do fine"
Sasuke nodded at his older brother and cousin and said goodbye to them, he followed the old woman. The small building only had three floors, and each of them bustling with sounds and life, by the third floor, Sasuke realized too late where he was. Sasuke's mind was filled with anxiety, as indulging in prostitution was one of the 3 capital things forbidden by ninja, he could get kicked of the Jonin force for this, worse he could go to prison. What the hell was Shisui and Itachi thinking? And what kind of old Uchiha tradition condones rule breaking? He bit his lip as he let theses thoughts consume him, he didn't even notice when the old woman stopped in front of a room.
"We are here young master, Shisui-sama has enlighten me of your coming of age. Rest assured that I will be as discreet as possible, no harm will come to your reputation. I hope you enjoy your stay" said the old woman as she bowed and then opened the door. Sasuke nodded in understanding and entered the room, Sasuke felt a surge of dread as the old woman closed the door.
"Hello, you must be Sasuke-sama, I've been waiting for you"
Sasuke turned to face a beautiful girl wearing a traditional white and royal blue kimono, her yellow obi was untied, which Sasuke deduced was for easier access. She was sitting on a chair next to the window as she smiled at Sasuke, the room was simple with light yellow walls, a medium sized bed, a small bookcase next to the window where she was sitting and a small chest next to the bed. Sasuke nervously approached the girl, she then stood up and took off her kimono completely, leaving Sasuke in a tizzy. The girl giggles at him "Is this the first time you see a woman naked, Sasuke-sama?" Sasuke turns away from the girl and picks up her kimono only to drape it on her shoulders "No, its not". The girl looks at him curiously as she adjusts her kimono and smiles at Sasuke, Sasuke turns to face her, she lifts up her hair and flawlessly ties it into a ponytail all while looking at Sasuke with the biggest purple eyes he had ever seen "You have a girlfriend do you not?" Sasuke blushed again and stayed in silence "Or is she your teammate? I've heard that you ninja are forbidden from-" "You are quite nosy for a whore you know that?" She chuckled at his comment as she walked toward as small table next to her bed, there she grabbed a lit red kiseru and began smoking from it, she sat on the bed as she looked at Sasuke seriously.
"I'm sorry, I'm just not used to this"
"Its fine, come, sit next to me Sasuke-sama" said the girl as smiled gently at him, Sasuke sighed and sat down next to her. She placed her kiseru on the table, as she turned to face Sasuke and grabbed his hand tenderly.
"We don't have to do anything if you don't feel up to it Sasuke-sama"
"But-" immediately the girl placed her hand on his mouth and giggled shyly
"Again, we don't have to do anything, I'll tell Ebihara-san that you ravished me or something. The last thing I want to do is make you feel uncomfortable" said the girl as she placed her hands back on her lap and smiled slightly at Sasuke, Sasuke blushed yet again. He brushed his hair back while smiling slightly at the girl "Whats your name?"
"Koyuki" said the girl as she twirled her ponytail with her fingers, Sasuke and her talked until almost dawn, Sasuke succumbing to exhaustion fell asleep in Koyuki's arms. It was nearly noon when Sasuke awoke, Koyuki was still sleeping peacefully next to him. He smiled as he covered her with a blanket, he left her room and made his way towards the exit, bowing to Ebihara before leaving the small brothel. He began walking towards his house, Sasuke was mentally exhausted from yesterday's events and once he reached his house, he locked himself up in his room. As Sasuke laid on his bed processing everything that happened, he found himself thinking of Koyuki, as if unable to let her out of his mind, he felt possessed. He tossed and turned, until it became unbearable, he needed to see her again, if only for a few seconds. He took a quick shower and changed his clothes, he jumped from his window and ran towards the small brothel. It was hours later when Sasuke didn't show up for dinner that Mikoto became incredibly worried, she then along with Itachi went up to Sasuke's room.
Mikoto knocked on Sasuke's door
"Sasuke, are you alright?"
No answer, Itachi then knocked with more force on Sasuke's door
"Little brother, you didn't come to dinner and mom is worried about you. Open the door!"
Still no answer, Itachi then unlocked the door and opened it, only to find the room empty. Itachi sighed in annoyance as it was obvious that his brother had left long ago.
"Oh, where could your brother have gone?" said Mikoto with a worried tone of voice, Itachi then kissed his mother's hands "Don't worry mother, I'll find him". Mikoto smiled at her son, as he left the house abruptly in order to find him. Meanwhile Fugaku was in the Hokage's chambers, he had just been informed of some incredibly troubling news.
"Namikaze-sama, I have some bad news"
"Fugaku-san unless this is about security measures for the chunin exams, I have no interest in knowing about it" said the Hokage as he brushed off Fugaku and focused on several papers that were in front of him. Fugaku placed a blue folder on the Hokage's desk
"I'm afraid you can't afford to be neutral any more, Namikaze-sama. Just now my scouts have informed me that six ninja settlements close to to Iwagakure were destroyed and their entire population decimated. The Tsuchikage's personal guard is all but decimated as well as some of their most talented ninjas, they are asking for Konoha's aid in this dark time"
"Fugaku-san, you know as well as I do that if I enter that fray that could very well be Konoha's fate. Besides are the Iwa ninjas so weak that they can't handle the Earth Daimyo's army?"
"It was not the army that created this catastrophe, but rather a type of warrior I never thought I would encounter in my lifetime"
"What are you talking about?"
"Open the folder, Namikaze-sama"
The Hokage opened the folder and amongst the maps and reports, he found a single picture. In this picture was the figure of man dressed in a dark green kimono top, black nakama tied together with a black obi belt, his face was covered by a large bamboo hat while his hands were holding a katana in a battle position, at his feet were the corpses of several ninja. The Hokage looked at the picture with fear as he then directed his gaze towards Fugaku.
"How can this be? There hasn't been sighting of a samurai since the warring states period, they don't leave the Land of Iron much less involve themselves in ninja affairs"
"It does not matter where they are from, what matters is that they are here and are an incredibly dangerous threat. News of theses samurai will more than likely spread which is why we need to decide on which side we are on Namikaze-sama."
"Has there been anymore sightings, Fugaku-san?"
"Yes, other than this male samurai at the outskirts of Iwa, there has been reports of a samurai in the Land of Snow as well as in Kumogakure. But there has been some casualties, the land of Sound in which Orochimaru-sama established his own village has been completely destroyed, as well as the ninja settlements to the northwest of Takigakure. Unfortunately, Orochimaru-sama and Kabuto-san's whereabouts are currently unknown, all of them point towards a single samurai, albeit different than the one in Iwa. Our intelligence network believes that they are working together and that they are effectively killing ninjas and villages affiliated with the rebellion."
The Hokage breathes deeply as he stands up and looks at Fugaku seriously "Fugaku-san, I want you to double check immigrant records of the past 3 months following the rebellion and the success of the Mizukage in establishing the ninja states in the Land of Water and I want you to check every single immigrant that has settled here since then. I have no doubt that there is already a samurai in our village, hidden and waiting to strike once we form part of the rebellion. Once you find the suspect, I want them jailed and interrogated at once. Am I clear?"
"Yes, Namikaze-sama I shall see to it at once"
"Also send some of your best ANBU troops to help with Iwa's efforts against this samurai, but I want them disguised as mercenary ninja with no affiliation to us. Be as discreet as possible Fugaku-san."
Fugaku nodded in agreement and bowed at the Hokage while he rushed out of his office. Miles away from Konoha, in a small bordering town. A bespectacled woman sat in a tea shop, her shabby kimono hid her well from prying eyes as she drank her tea peacefully. Suddenly a man sat down with her; The man was wearing a black long sleeved shirt with a flak jacket belonging to Konoha along with black pants and ninja sandals. His long black hair was tied in a ponytail and he had a handsome face, the woman scowled slightly at him. The man then discreetly placed a scroll and a small silver bracelet on the table, the woman nodded and took theses items and hid them in her breast, the woman then chuckled at him as she poured him a cup of tea.
"Well Kenta, what is the news?"
"Izanaya has just finished crushing the last form of resistance in the land of the sound and is helping the Daimyo restructure his military in case the ninjas decide to attack again"
"What about Yusuke, in the Land of Earth?"
"Yusuke has managed to destroy most of the ninja settlements near Iwagakure but the Tsuchikage's forces are becoming more and more intrepid, he has asked for backup and so thats where I'm heading"
"I did tell Lady Gozen that it was too much for Yusuke and now you have to clean up his mess" said the woman with a tinge of annoyance, Kenta merely sighed as he drank from his cup.
"It can't be helped, he done well so far, he just underestimated the loyalty of the Tsuchikage's subjects as well as their intelligence corps. theres already word on the return of the samurai to the ninja world."
"That idiot, this is why you shouldn't let anything to rookies."
"This is a good thing, Himiko, with this huge threat looming over their heads, the villages will no doubt show their true colors. Just now the Hokage of Konoha has been informed of the problems in Iwagakure and has agreed to send four of his most talented ANBU operatives to help the Tsuchikage...Well three in this case. I shall keep a close eye on the operatives and Yusuke, how are things fairing for you?" said Kenta as he poured himself more tea, Himiko then pulled a different scroll from her breast and gave it to Kenta. He swiftly hid it in one of his pockets.
"The shinobi of the Land of Wind has been very discreet in terms of their movements, but there has been some reports of attacks by shinobi on the various merchant routes towards Kyo, the capital of The Land of Wind. As well as the destruction of various checkpoints towards Kyo, the Kazekage is not in full control of his village as it would seem. For by pledging loyalty to the Daimyo has cost him the loyalty of several of his subjects, it is probable that there is a separate group of people attempting to undermine the Kazekage's authority and involve the village in the rebellion as well, there is also talk about a coup d'etat in the streets of Sunagakure but as I mentioned before it is incredibly discreet."
"Are you planning on attacking any time soon?"
"No, I am still gathering intel and attacking right now would be too premature, it could very well compromise my mission. If Suna steps out of bounds, I'll make my presence known"
"I shall keep you informed of any new details I find on the way" said Kenta as he began to stand up, Himiko grabbed him by the arm with enough force to make him sit down again.
"Have you heard from Hamuko?" said Himiko worriedly
"I haven't, all I know is that she has infiltrated Konoha successfully and is now gathering intel. Lady Gonzen does not want us to contact her unless its absolutely necessary for fear of having her identity known, but I'm sure shes fine. She is a strong onna bugeisha and she wouldn't let herself get caught." said Kenta smiling, Himiko nodded as she stood up and looked at Kenta seriously "I wish you success Kenta, let meet here again at the dawn of a new moon"
Kenta nodded as they both left the tea shop, going in separate paths.